Blyth was once a thriving
coal-exporting, fishing port and, in WW2, a submarine base. Times
have changed and once the coal-fired power station closed it came
to rely on the import of Alumina for the local Aluminium Smelter.
However the smelter at Lynemouth closed in 2012. Alumina is still imported,
and transported, by rail, to Fort William in Scotland. In 2003 the quay
was restored and coal was for a time
imported from Eastern
Europe and the USA, to the converted Battleship Wharf. Research
and development of North Sea wind turbines is breathing new life to the port.
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